Is Diego Costa the most hated player at the 2014 World Cup? According to Business Insider, the Brazilian-born Spain international might be. For starters, he can't seem to win: to Spanish fans he is not Spanish, and to Brazilians, Costa is a traitor who turned down the opportunity to play ... Read the whole story

In an interview with USA Today, David Beckham sounded off on the USA and England's chances of success at the 2014 World Cup. The former Manchester United midfielder, who made 115 appearances for England between 1996 and 2009, has lived in America since signing for MLS club the L.A. Galaxy ... Read the whole story

Croatia coach Niko Kovac continued his attack on Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura, who officiated the opening game of the World Cup between Brazil and Croatia, for awarding a controversial penalty in the home team's 3-1 victory in Sao Paulo on Thursday night. Kovac was outspoken about the penalty decision after ... Read the whole story

The World Cup in Brazil could be a turning point for mega sporting events, Reuters reports, in the sense that governing organizations like FIFA and the International Olympics Committee might be forced to accept less ambitious bids for their competitions to reduce the risk of public backlash. Indeed, the 2014 ... Read the whole story

UK broadcaster ITV endured a turbulent opening day of the World Cup on Thursday, as anti-World Cup protesters turned their attention on its studio in Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, throwing rocks that caused damage to its large glass panels. ITV presenters Adrian Chiles, Lee Dixon, Fabio Cannavaro and ... Read the whole story

Cristiano Ronaldo cut short his training session with Portugal on Thursday, and was forced to leave the field with an ice pack over his troublesome left knee, indicating that tendinitis might still be bothering the Real Madrid forward. According to the Guardian, Ronaldo trained with the rest of the team ... Read the whole story

Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport claims that Joachim Low, Germany's coach, has a termination clause in his contract that could see him fired if Germany fails to impress at the World Cup. Low, 54, has led the German national team to three major semifinals since succeeding Jurgen Klinsmann ... Read the whole story

Andrea Pirlo has revealed that the World Cup will be his last international competition with Italy. Pirlo, who won the tournament with Italy in 2006, announced his plans during a press conference, but the 35-year-old did say he would continue to play with his club Juventus, with which he signed ... Read the whole story